Fissures in the GOP Call Into Question the Future of the Republican Party
By Joshua Rogers ‘24
The electoral college map leading up to the finalized results of the 2020 presidential election. Photo courtesy of Clay Banks.
On February 21, 2021 Arkansas Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson announced on CNN’s “State of the Union” that if former President Donald J. Trump ran in 2024 he would not support President Trump’s candidacy, saying that "He [President Trump] should not define our future. We have got to define it for our-self." Gov. Hutchinson is one of the most publicly entrenched Republicans to come out against President Trump as he has held political office since 1996. From 1996-2001 Gov. Hutchinson represented Arkansas in the House of Representatives at which point he resigned to serve as the Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in the Bush Administration. In 2003 President Bush appointed him to undersecretary of border and transportation security for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Following his time in the Bush administration Gov. Hutchinson defeated Mike Ross (D) in Arkansas’ 2014 Gubernatorial race and continues to hold his post as Governor of Arkansas.
Gov. Hutchinson is one of four Republican Governors to voice their opposition to President Trump’s candidacy in 2024. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Vermont Governor Phil Scott, and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker also oppose a Trump run in 2024. However, Governor Hutchinson is the only Governor who controls a traditionally red state. The last time Arkansas voted to elect a Democrat was in 1996 when President Bill Clinton carried the state by almost 17 points. Since then, Arkansas has gotten progressively more conservative; in 2020 President Donald Trump carried Arkansas by almost 28 points.
Gov. Hutchinson’s announcement comes at a time of great divide within the Republican Party as he joins a large collection of high-ranking Republican figures who have expressed their dislike of President Trump. During President Trump’s second impeachment trial on January 13, 2021, 10 Republican House members ( Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC), Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Rep.Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Rep. Jaime Herrera (R-WA), Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), Rep. John Katko (R-NY), Rep. David Valadao (R-CA)) voted to impeach President Trump for inciting an insurrection. With the support of these 10 Republican House Representatives this was the most bipartisan impeachment of any President in United States history. The resulting senate trial was also the most bipartisan impeachment trial with 7 Republican Senators (Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Maine Senator Susan Collins, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE)) voting to convict President Trump for inciting an insurrection.
The bipartisanship nature of these elected officials comes at a time in which an unprecedented amount of former and appointed officials have also come out against President Trump. As of right now, 6 former Republican Senators, 40 former Republican House Representatives, 21 Republican Cabinet Level Officials, 11 Republican Defense Department Officials, 20 Republican Justice Department Officials, 32 Republican State Department Officials, and 11 former Republican Governors have spoken out against President Trump’s reelection campaign.
The U.S. flag and the 2020 Trump campaign flag.
This coalition of high ranking GOP members is one of the most evident displays of the fissures emerging among the GOP and yet President Trump doesn’t seem like he is going anywhere anytime soon. First of all the majority of those who have spoken out against President Trump have been silenced and berated by their party in their own states. Moreover, President Trump still maintains a cult like loyalty from the majority of the GOP’s voting base. On March 12, the Alabama GOP proclaimed that Donald Trump was “one of the greatest presidents of all time.” citing his ability to appoint supreme court nominees, his handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, and his tax policies. This is not surprising given that According to a CNBC poll taken in the beginning of February 59% of Republicans want President Trump to remain the leader of either the Republican Party or a third Party. Furthermore, a USA Today poll found that nearly half of those surveyed in this GOP specific poll indicated that they were comfortable with abandoning the Republican Party to join President Trump’s own party if that were to happen.
The divide between the Republican Party’s constituents and those who represent the old guard of the Republican party will continue to expand unless the identity of the party is flushed out. Will President Trump take over the Republican Party or will he strive to make his own? Will the members of the GOP who oppose Trump be able to stand against him as time goes on? Only time will tell.